The present invention is related to battery monitoring, and more particularly to systems and methods for detecting potential battery failure.
A number of electronic devices utilize rechargeable batteries and associated charging systems. A rechargeable battery may be repeatedly charged and discharged over the course of its useful life. The process of charging and discharging is generally performed without incident other than the typical operational degradation of the battery over the course of operation. Indeed, most battery failure mechanisms operate to gradually decrease useful battery life and do not cause a safety hazard.
At times one or more mechanisms may come into play that result in the catastrophic battery failure. Catastrophic battery failure may be benign resulting in, for example, an irreversible and immediate failure of the battery. Other times, however, a catastrophic battery failure may result in a fire with all of the problems associated therewith. As just some examples, degradation of the battery cells may include detachment, displacement or disintegration of one or more internal components that can cause an electrical short followed by a possible fire or explosion of the battery cell. Such an outcome may result in considerable property damage and personal injury.
Some electronic devices employ an external protection circuit to detect overheating of the battery. When overheating is detected, the battery may be disconnected from a circuit to which it is connected. Such an approach offers some ability to limit damage to an external circuit due to aberrant battery behavior, however, at times the overheating is a sign of an irreversible process that ultimately results in a fire or explosion. Thus, while the aforementioned external circuits offer some level of protection, the possibility of fire or explosion still remains.
Thus, for at least the aforementioned reasons, there exists a need in the art for advanced systems, circuits and methods for determining potential battery failure.